MRM Worldwide Forms Hispanic Advisory Panel

Aims to Explore Second-Generation, Bilingual Consumers

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Digital and direct-marketing agency MRM Worldwide has formed an American-Hispanic Advisory Panel to explore marketing to second-generation U.S. Hispanics.
Maria Lopez-Knowles
Executives at MRM, an arm of Interpublic Group of Cos.' McCann Worldgroup, said insight about second-generation U.S. Hispanics is needed at a time when they comprise almost a quarter of the 44 million U.S. Hispanic population.

Web-savvy group
Second-generation Hispanic consumers, who are increasingly bilingual and internet savvy, need different marketing approaches than first-generation Hispanics, said Maria Lopez-Knowles, senior VP, MRM Worldwide, and a member of the panel.

"You can't reach the second generation the same way you reached the first, which is through Spanish media," Ms. Lopez-Knowles.

Alongside their own buying power, second-generation Hispanics are important because they influence their parents' brand decisions, she said.

"[Second-generation Hispanics] are translating the language and culture [for their parents]," said Ms. Lopez-Knowles.

The panel met in September and plans to meet bi-annually and conduct quarterly discussions over the phone.

"MRM is dedicated to delivering supremely targeted, relevant and compelling consumer messages on behalf of our clients. We believe the American-Hispanic panel is a necessary, insightful asset that will help us learn more about this rapidly expanding segment and optimize our program offerings," MRM Worldwide CEO Reuben Hendell said in a statement.